I Still Get A Lot of Hugs, But None of Them Are As Warm As Yours
by VirginiaPottsStark
Summary: This is a post-Endgame story, so if you haven't seen the movie, you probably want to wait to read this.


In the middle of the night, Morgan awakes and slips into her parents' room. Her mother is almost never asleep in these moments, and Morgan's bright little mind wants to ask if she's been asleep at all. She never does though, already knowing the answer. Daddy didn't sleep much either.

She hears her Mommy crying from down the hall nearly every night, and some nights, Morgan cries with her. The hole in their lives now that Daddy is gone is something she is sure they will never recover from, even at such a young age. Morgan can feel the hole in her heart, and there are nights when she wakes up screaming for her father, because she's had a nightmare that the hole got bigger and bigger until there was nothing left of her. Those are the nights she waits for him to come comfort her, but now it's always Mommy who comes to sing her back to sleep.

When Morgan crawls into bed with her mother, it is always on her father's side. Even after all these months, it still smells like him. When she slips under the covers and buries her face in his pillow, it is the closest thing she can get to feeling his arms wrap around her again.

When Mommy pulls her close and kisses her forehead, they look at each other for a moment and they both reach out to wipe the other's tears away.

Morgan often buries her face in her mother's chest, clinging to her as if she might go away too if she lets go for even one second.

She inhales the scent of her father that covers the MIT shirt her mother wears to bed every night.

On some days, the Bad Days, Mommy doesn't take the shirt off at all. Those days are the hardest for both of them.

"Mommy?" Morgan whispers into the dark. She's lying on top of her mother more than she is on the bed, but Mommy just wraps her arms around Morgan and holds her close.

"Yes, baby?" Mommy whispers back.

"I can't hear Daddy's voice anymore," Morgan says, as her bottom lip begins to quiver.

Mommy takes a deep breath. It's the kind that she always takes when she tries to keep from crying.

They have not listened to Daddy's voice since the recording he'd left to be played at his memorial service. Morgan understands, in her own way, that it hurts Mommy too much to hear it. Daddy's voice was quickly getting lost in Morgan's memories though, and she didn't want to forget. She didn't want to forget what he looked like or sounded like. If she forgot, then he was truly gone.

Mommy sits up slowly, with Morgan cradled against her. She gets out of bed and places Morgan on her hip. She clings to her mother and rests her head on Mommy's shoulder. She doesn't ask where they're going. She just knows that Mommy will make things better because that's what she always does.

Mommy asks Friday to turn on the lights as they make their way through the house to Daddy's workshop. Neither of them had been down there since his…since he had to leave them.

The lights turn on as they walk down the steps to the workshop, and even the bots come to life as if they're happy to see Morgan and her mommy.

Mommy smiles at them sadly, "hey boys."

They make noises that cause Morgan to giggle, and she reaches out to pet them when they come closer.

Mommy sets Morgan down gently and makes her way to Daddy's computer. She takes a seat in front of it and quickly wipes her eyes before she turns it on.

"Come here, Miss Morgan," Mommy says, holding her hands out for her little girl.

Morgan runs to her mother and settles herself in her lap, looking at the computer as if it could tell her all the secrets of the world.

Mommy begins touching the screen. Morgan watches closely as she goes through Daddy's files. Morgan used to do that and Daddy would tell her she would have much more fun if she just took the computer apart and put it back together. The weeks before he…had to leave them, he'd started teaching her, but they never finished and so she ended up sitting with Uncle Bruce while he put it back together.

Mommy finally stops when she finds what she was looking for. She pushes play and sits back in the chair, arms wrapped tightly around Morgan.

Daddy appears on screen and Morgan's little face lights up. She looks back at Mommy, who is smiling and crying at the same time.

Daddy is down on his knees in front of Mommy. Her tummy is big and round and Morgan points at Mommy's belly on the screen with a big grin on her face.

"That's me!" She exclaims, clapping her little hands.

Mommy kisses her top of her head, "it sure is, sweetheart."

They both go quiet again when Daddy begins to talk.

He kisses Mommy's belly before he says, "hi Morgan. It's your daddy here, just wondering when you're going to come out of there so we can meet you. We've been waiting a long time."

The Mommy on screen laughs and runs her fingers through Daddy's hair, "I told you that she'll come out when she's ready."

Mommy helps Daddy to his feet and he kisses her gently. Morgan is listening so intently that she can hear Daddy whisper to Mommy that he loves her. Mommy whispers it back and the video ends.

"Do you want to watch another?" Mommy asks.

Morgan shakes her head and turns in her mother's lap, wrapping her arms around her neck and resting her head on her shoulder.

"Not tonight, Mommy. It makes my heart hurt," Morgan admits.

Mommy turns off the computer and gets up from the chair, holding Morgan close and rubbing her back gently. They say goodnight to the bots and Friday turns off the lights as they head upstairs.

"It hurts my heart too, but I wanted you to know that any time you miss Daddy or you forget his voice, he is always here. He's only a click away, and baby girl, he has so many videos of the two of you that it'll take a whole lifetime for you to watch them all," Mommy assures her, as she helps Morgan into Daddy's side of the bed before getting in herself.

"I miss him," Morgan says, rolling over to face her mother.

"I miss him too, every second of every day," Mommy admits, tucking some hair behind her ear the way that Daddy used to.

"I think Daddy would've wanted you to sleep now, Mommy."

Morgan reaches over and closes her mother's eyelids gently. Mommy smiles and pulls her into a tight embrace.

"Well little miss, I think Daddy would've wanted you to go sleep hours ago," Mommy responds.

Morgan giggles and closes her eyes. She replays her Daddy's voice in her head like a record until she finally falls asleep.

Daddy may be gone, but Morgan knew there were pieces of him all around Mommy and her. All they had to do was look and listen.


End file.
